The traditional Acropolis of Athens is in full view from the rooftop of this boutique lodge, which design studio Home of Shila has housed in a former manufacturing facility constructing.
Mona Athens is situated within the metropolis’s full of life Psirri district, inside an eight-storey Fifties constructing that after served as a textile manufacturing facility.
Home of Shila, led by New York-based entrepreneur Shai Antebi and Greek photographer and artistic director Eftihia Stefanidi, selected to maintain as a lot of the constructing’s bones as doable when changing it right into a 20-key lodge.
This meant retaining its authentic dramatic iron staircase, terrazzo flooring, steel window frames and marble facade.
“We designed Mona with nice respect for the constructing’s Fifties structure,” stated Stefanidi.
“The construction itself stays unchanged, revealing 70 years of historical past. Emphasis was given to preserving authentic options.”
Layering over industrial supplies like uncovered concrete and weathering metal, the crew added picket furnishings and textured materials to carry heat and tactility to the areas all through.
Accessed from the road, the 200-square-metre split-level foyer serves as a lounge and a restaurant that may host pop-up occasions and installations.
An eclectic mixture of furnishings and decor populate the house, which might be opened to the surface by way of full-height folding glass doorways.
The lodge’s six totally different room classes vary from intimate rooms of round 16 to twenty sq. metres all the way in which as much as the 55-square-metre penthouses and Mona’s Suite, with a number of the bigger rooms offering entry to personal balconies and patios.
All characteristic the same sultry-meets-industrial aesthetic, which Home of Shila compares to a “sensual refuge”, characterised by curtains of sheer cotton and richly-coloured velvet, low minimalist beds, custom-knitted carpets and gentle lighting from bespoke fixtures.
Within the majority of the visitor rooms, the washing areas are open to the sleeping quarters – with separate water closets for privateness – and a few characteristic comfortable lounge seating.
White freestanding Corian bathtubs and industrial-style rain showers are shrouded by translucent curtains, making a “sure stability of consolation and drama”, in line with the design studio.
The open rooftop presents a direct view of the Parthenon and different buildings atop the Acropolis, the UNESCO-listed epicentre of Historic Greece, whereas the vacationer entrance to the positioning is a 15-minute stroll from the lodge.
Reserved for Mona Athens friends and members, this outside house features a lengthy glass-and-metal communal desk, cushioned sofas, outside showers, lush planting and a bar that serves cocktails and “eclectic fare” with elements sourced from the native meals market.
There’s additionally a speakeasy venue within the basement, the place pop-up exhibitions and personal occasions can happen.
All the ornamental gadgets within the rooms can be found for friends to buy, from the natural cotton bedsheets to the ceramic espresso cups.
Antebi’s background is in actual property improvement whereas Stefanidi was beforehand the inventive director for immersive leisure firm Secret Cinema.
The duo based Home of Shila after working collectively on their first hospitality undertaking Shila – one other boutique hotel-cum-arts venue in Athens’ Kolonaki neighbourhood.
As soon as a fast stopover for vacationers on the way in which to the Greek islands, the capital is turning into a well-liked vacation spot for metropolis breaks in its personal proper, due to its wealthy historical past, rising culinary scene, year-round honest climate and relative affordability.
The proprietor of Carwan Gallery described Athens as “the brand new Berlin” when the modern design gallery relocated there from Beirut in 2020.
A number of boutique inns have opened or undergone renovation within the downtown space over the previous few years, together with the neo-modernist Perianth Resort and the Evripidis Resort, which obtained a brand new rooftop bar and breakfast room.
The images is by Ana Santl.
